SYRIA, Al-Hasakah — On May 24, 2014, the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology (APSA: Website | Facebook | YouTube) received news of another archaeological tragedy as reported on their website:

“According to information received from the south of Al-Hasakeh region, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has arrested looters of antiquities and intentionally destroyed ancient statues dating back to the Assyrian period found during illicit excavations at Tell Ajaja.”

In the chaos of the Syrian war, Islamic fundamentalists and looters continue to destroy archaeological sites, including the treasures of the Assyrian, Greek and Roman artifacts and statues. Islamists claim the ancient artifacts that portray human beings are against their religious Koranic beliefs.

Antiquities that have survived thousands of years of numerous invasions, battles, and wars between the kingdoms, are now rapidly being plundered by the psychologicalinferiority complex of Islamists and their delusional quest to rid the world of pre-Islamic heritage, culture and history.

The tragic suffering of millions of war-ravaged and displaced refugees, especially the indigenousChristian minority populations in the Middle East, share the same fate as the ancient statues, the latter has died twice.